Conan Doyle's first ever novel published NEWS
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's previously unpublished first novel is set to hit shops one hundred years from when it was penned after getting lost in the post.
The novel, written while Conan Doyle was in his early 20s is described as a series of reflections and conversations. The Narrative of John Smith is comprised of musings of a man confined to his room by gout. Written between 1883 and 1884, the novel was sent to a publisher, but lost in the post. It was then reconstructed from memory. Releasing the novel are The British Library, along with an audiobook spoken by english actor, Robert Lindsay. The manuscript, formed of four notebooks is also set to form part of an exhibition, running at The British Library until 5th January.
Rachel Foss, who co-edited the novel claimed This publication and exhibition show that there are still new things to discover about this iconic literary figure. It's a testament to the richness of Conan Doyle's life and the archive he left behind.. that we can still unearth such little known gems.
Part of the Library's collection since 2007, the novel is now being published with the consent of the Conan Doyle literary estate. Doyle continued to revise and draw on passages from it in later writing, but never re-submitted the novel to be published.
Jon Lellenberg, of the Conan Doyle Estate alleged the author was fortunate his first stab at writing a novel went unpublished in the 1880s. However, he continued the novel offered a unique window into the mind, thinking and often emphatic opinions of the Sherlock Holmes creator.
Sir Conan Doyle once joked, My shock at it's disappearance would be as nothing to my horror if it were suddenly to appear again ' in print.
The Narrative of John Smith will be finally available for purchase from Monday 26th September.
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